Yan Shouyi stood far away and didn't quite hear what the Great Elder of Longhu Mountain, Zhang Sishui, was scolding the sweeping young Taoist about. However, he guessed it was likely because the young Taoist hadn't cleared the fallen leaves in time.
He felt a strange sense of identification with this young Taoist, so he couldn't help but want to step forward and say a few words for him:
"Senior, it was I who passed by the alley and delayed this Taoist priest. Otherwise, he would have already swept these fallen leaves clean. Please do not punish him."
Hearing the voice, Zhang Sishui frowned and looked at Yan Shouyi. In the past, when he reprimanded people on Longhu Mountain, no one dared to interject.
Seeing Yan Shouyi, Zhang Sishui didn't recognize him immediately, but upon seeing Zhang Shantong following behind Yan Shouyi, his face grew even more displeased:
"This is our own affair on Longhu Mountain. What business is it of outsiders to butt in?!"
Yan Shouyi indeed had no right to point fingers at Longhu Mountain, especially in front of Zhang Sishui. But he still wanted to support the young Taoist, so he walked up to the young Taoist and bowed to Zhang Sishui:
"Yan Shouyi, descendant of Lu Ban, pays his respects to Senior. Junior does not have any grievances with Senior, I merely wish to put in a good word for this young Taoist."
Zhang Sishui completely ignored the latter half of Yan Shouyi's words and was only concerned with the first half: "You are Yan Shouyi?"
The young Taoist also stared at Yan Shouyi.
"That's right, this is my god-grandson!" Zhang Shantong suddenly laughed. "Brother, do me a favor and let this young Taoist go."
Zhang Sishui said impatiently, "You know nothing! Get out of here!"
Yan Shouyi coughed twice, looking at Zhang Shantong with a look full of sympathy.
It seemed his god-grandfather wasn't doing too well on Longhu Mountain either. Earlier, in the Heavenly Master Hall, the Heavenly Master told him to get lost, and now he encountered Zhang Sishui outside, who also told him to get lost.
As if provoked by Yan Shouyi's gaze, Zhang Shantong suddenly became assertive:
"Damn it, calling you brother is me giving you face. Don't push your luck! I'm protecting this young Taoist. Whether you're right or wrong, if you have the guts, let's spar a few rounds?"
As the saying goes, the soft fear the hard, the hard fear the ruthless, and the ruthless fear those who are desperate. Zhang Sishui was now a bit reluctant to provoke Zhang Shantong.
So he let out a cold snort, put on a stern face, and walked past them, between Yan Shouyi and Zhang Shantong. Then he turned back and said to Yan Shouyi:
"Allowing ignorant barbarians from these folk sects into Longhu Mountain is simply the biggest joke in the world. I advise you, the Luotian Grand Ceremony is not a place for you to be. Don't even think about the position of Heavenly Master!"
This statement by Zhang Sishui directly insulted Yan Shouyi twice.
Yan Shouyi stared fixedly at Zhang Sishui and said word by word:
"Longhu Mountain is the foremost orthodox Taoist lineage in the world. As a Great Elder of Longhu Mountain, Senior should show a certain respect to all sects in the world. Such insults only reveal your narrow-mindedness and make people question whether Longhu Mountain is still qualified to hold the title of the foremost orthodox lineage in the world."
Zhang Sishui was stunned, not expecting this kid Yan Shouyi to dare to refute him directly.
However, he didn't intend to argue with Yan Shouyi. He just gave a dismissive smile, as if he didn't take Yan Shouyi seriously at all, then flicked his sleeves and walked towards the Heavenly Master Hall.
While Zhang Sishui didn't want to bother with Yan Shouyi, Yan Shouyi wasn't planning to let it go. He shouted at Zhang Sishui's retreating back:
"Senior keeps calling me a folk sect and referring to me as an ignorant barbarian, saying I'm not qualified to be the Heavenly Master—but I will win the championship at the Luotian Grand Ceremony this time and take the position of Heavenly Master from your Longhu Mountain, to show you arrogant fellows what true folk sects are!!!"
Zhang Sishui, who was walking, paused his steps, then became even more disdainful. Without looking back, he disappeared at the end of the alley.
As soon as Zhang Sishui left, Yan Shouyi's arrogant demeanor changed. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly at Zhang Shantong and the young Taoist:
"Sorry about that, I forgot you two are from Longhu Mountain. What I said just now was just for Zhang Sishui to hear."
Zhang Shantong laughed, "It's fine. It's best if you angered that old guy to death. The world will be rid of a scourge! Speaking of which, you should have brought Xiao Long. If Xiao Long were here, he would definitely make Zhang Sishui sick."
Yan Shouyi chuckled, bent down, picked up the broom from the ground, and returned it to the young Taoist, patting his shoulder and saying:
"Be more diligent next time, and you won't get scolded."
"I..."
Just as the young Taoist was about to say something, Yan Shouyi asked, "By the way, do you know Zhu Feifeng? I still don't know where we'll be staying."
The young Taoist thought for a moment, then simply put down the broom and said, "I'll take you."
"You? But your leaves aren't swept clean yet. What if Zhang Sishui scolds you again later?" Yan Shouyi asked.
"It's alright. I'm used to being scolded anyway. No matter what I do, he scolds me."
The young Taoist smiled, turned around, and started to lead the way. Yan Shouyi had no choice but to follow.
Zhang Shantong looked the young Taoist up and down in surprise, always feeling that this young Taoist was different from other young Taoists.
The young Taoist seemed very familiar with Longhu Mountain. He kept his head slightly bowed and didn't look at the road much, but his steps were very firm.
Along the way, Zhang Shantong was lamenting how much Longhu Mountain had changed in the years he had been away. Yan Shouyi then learned that Zhang Shantong had only returned to Longhu Mountain that morning, just one step ahead of him.
Yan Shouyi recalled his first meeting with Zhang Sishui and felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction. He was even more unhappy to think that it was this guy who had taken Liu Yiren as a disciple.
With Liu Yiren's personality, how could she possibly get along with someone as ill-tempered as Zhang Sishui?
He had originally wanted to visit Liu Yiren, but after this incident, Yan Shouyi felt it was better to wait. It would be better to greet her directly at the Luotian Grand Ceremony tomorrow.
"Young Taoist, what is your name, and what generation are you from?" Zhang Shantong suddenly asked the young Taoist.
The young Taoist replied, "Junior is not originally from Longhu Mountain. I currently have no Taoist name, nor have I been assigned a generation."
Whether it's a Taoist or a monk, Taoist names and Dharma names are assigned according to generation. For example, Zhang Shantong and Zhang Shanli are fellow disciples and both belong to the "Shan" generation. Monk Miaoji should belong to the "Miao" generation. Usually, knowing someone's generation allows one to roughly deduce how they should address each other.
Upon hearing the young Taoist's words, Zhang Shantong assumed the young Taoist had not been on Longhu Mountain for long and hadn't even received a Taoist name. He praised him:
"Although you haven't been on Longhu Mountain for a long time, you are more familiar with the paths here than I am. It seems you have a good memory... Since you don't have a Taoist name yet, why don't I give you one?"
The young Taoist did not object: "Whatever Senior says goes."
"You're a straightforward kid. Then I bestow upon you the character Shun. According to your entry time, you are likely in the Yu generation. Therefore, your Taoist name should be... Yu Shun, how about that?"
"Thank you, Senior, for the bestowed name!" the young Taoist said with a smile.
With a Taoist name, it was much easier for Yan Shouyi to address him. He quietly asked, "Daoist Yu Shun, how long have you been by the Old Heavenly Master's side?"
Yu Shun replied, "For some time now."
This answer was vague, but Yan Shouyi and the others, having made up their minds, assumed this so-called "some time" meant around a few months.
So Yan Shouyi couldn't help but ask again, "Then do you know about the female streamer matter?"
Yu Shun paused, his expression showing unnaturalness for the first time. But he quickly recovered and turned his head aside, saying, "What female streamer?"
"It seems you don't know either... then it's nothing."
Yan Shouyi was now certain that the Old Heavenly Master's habit of watching female streamers was likely his private little quirk, which few people on Longhu Mountain knew about.
Yu Shun also seemed reluctant to continue the topic, pointing forward and saying, "Guests are housed on the side peak of Taiqing Peak. We'll be there soon."
"Thank you, Daoist Yu Shun."
"You can just call me Yu Shun. I can't quite bear the title of Daoist."
"Alright, then you can call me by my name too. I'm Yan Shouyi."
As the two young men spoke more, they became more familiar with each other, and Yan Shouyi began to address him by his name.
After walking for a while, the three finally arrived at the guest quarters. Long Feicheng and the others had already put their luggage in their respective rooms. Seeing Yan Shouyi arrive, they all gathered around him, asking what the Old Heavenly Master had summoned him for privately.
Only Long Feicheng recognized Zhang Shantong and immediately shouted "Grandpa!" loudly, which amused Zhang Shantong.
Admittedly, when it came to pretending to be a grandson, Long Feicheng was miles ahead of Yan Shouyi.
Given that Yu Shun was also present, Yan Shouyi did not share the content of his conversation with the Heavenly Master with everyone. Instead, he made an excuse that he hadn't seen the Old Heavenly Master, but had met Zhang Shantong. The others found this answer reasonable and didn't ask further questions.
Just then, there was a knock on the door from outside the courtyard. Zhu Feifeng stood outside. He saw that Yan Shouyi had already arrived in the courtyard and let out a sigh of relief, saying:
"Mr. Yan, I waited for you outside the Heavenly Master Hall earlier but didn't see you. I thought you must have come ahead. Fortunately, I found you."
"Daoist Zhu, please come in," Yan Shouyi invited.
Zhu Feifeng waved his hand and said, "No need. I came to inform you that the Lushan Sect people have not yet arrived at Longhu Mountain. If they do, I will come and notify you."
"Thank you for the trouble."
Zhu Feifeng added, "The Luotian Grand Ceremony will begin tomorrow at Chen Shi. The location is the Ten Thousand Dharma Altar in front of the Heavenly Master Hall. Meals for everyone staying in the mountain will be delivered by disciples."
Long Feicheng shouted, "Remember to send several portions of food, we have good appetites!"
Zhu Feifeng smiled and nodded in agreement.
With the notifications delivered, Zhu Feifeng should have left. Yu Shun, after some thought, also planned to bid farewell.
But at this moment, everyone suddenly frowned and then looked uniformly towards the east.
After a second's pause, a deafening roar of tiger and dragon suddenly came from the east!!
At this moment, the slightly slower young Taoist Yu Shun, his face grave, looked towards the east.